Ailing piglet market remains in one direction

In Germany, the weak trade is finally reflected in the piglet price. In week 28 the price fell by €2 to €61 per piglet. In previous weeks, the room for reduction was mainly sought in allowances. Unlike in the Netherlands, allowances in Germany are much more variable. Due to a surplus of piglets, a reduction in the basic price was irreversible. The expectation is that the German piglet price will soon return to the '€50 zone'.

BPP firmly under attack
In the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Denmark, pig farmers are holding off under the motto: 'Waiting pays off'. Now that the piglet price is in a downward vortex and slaughterhouses are slaughtering less, that is not a crazy idea. For traders, free piglets are therefore a crime to get rid of. There is hardly any space available and the situation is deteriorating by the week. Sales last week were even more disappointing than expected. In Spain too, the pressure to impose piglets is nil, as the piglet price fell by €3 last week to €39 per piglet.

For week 29, the DCA BestPigletPrice is €51 per piglet. The reduction of €3 per piglet is the largest since the start of the BPP in October 2015. So far a reduction of €2 has been the maximum. Whether the BPP encounters resistance at €50 will have to be seen in the coming weeks. In the meantime, traders, growers and propagators are watching the situation with tense eyes. 

Vion down with it 
For the Vion slaughterhouse, the holiday season mainly causes sales problems. The pig price is clearly in a negative spiral and has fallen by 7 cents to €1,69 per kilo. The reason? The meat industry purchases significantly less raw material, and with the slimmed-down slaughter plans, the supply is ample. With 2 cuts in a row, 13 cents have now evaporated from the pig price in July.